by Amy Norton-Benfield, January 28, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17) we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. I saw a meme the other day that referenced this Sunday’s scripture passage, in which Jesus surprises a Samaritan woman by reciting back to her, though she ought to be a stranger to him, the entirety of her complicated marital history:As a bookworm with not enough time on her hands to get through a massive ‘to be read’ stack, I felt very seen (and a little called-out) by the Jesus in this meme. At the… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 27, 2026
Once again, it’s time for a favorite United Parish tradition – Dinners for 8! These meals are a chance for us to gather and deepen our connections to one another in small groups of around 8 people. The meals are Friday, March 6, Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8. If you can serve as a HOST for a Dinner for 8, please CLICK HERE. Please sign up no later than Thursday, February 19. If you have any questions, please contact Kate H. or send an email to gathering@upbrookline.org…. Read More
by Matisse Peppet, January 22, 2026
This Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of John includes what’s arguably the most famous verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This week, we hear that sentence in context – spoken to someone trying to understand what life actually is, and grounded in a strange comparison to a wilderness story from the Hebrew Bible. In the book of Numbers, the Israelites, worn down by fear and exhaustion, are bitten by poisonous snakes. God does not remove the snakes or… Read More
by Kent M French, January 15, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17) we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. Like a lot of us, I grew up with this idea of Jesus as gentle, loving, embracing, slow to anger, quick to love. It’s a conception nestled deep in my psyche that has brought much comfort throughout my life. Which is part of why I’m grateful for this Sunday’s passage (John 2:13-25), when Jesus gets really pissed off in the temple, even overturning tables. I like it because we see the really human side of… Read More
by Kent M French, January 08, 2026
The sequence of our scripture readings in January always make me chuckle. Jesus is born, a week later the Magi come, Mary and Joseph take the baby and escape to Egypt, then he’s baptized as an adult and then he’s off and running in his active adult ministry. And in three months, we’ll remember him dying on the cross and defying the tomb. Fast forward. We’ve mixed up the readings from the usual course and this week we’ll remember one of the pivotal moments from the early days of his ministry: turning the water into wine at the wedding at… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 07, 2026
Join us for the third evening of the Jazz Sanctuary series with bassist, vocalist, and composer Devon Gates, one of 2024’s “Up and Comers of the Year” (The New York City Jazz Record). Gates brings her distinctive blend of jazz, chamber, and soul influences to United Parish in Brookline for an intimate, interdisciplinary evening of original music, storytelling, and movement on Saturday, January 24 at 7pm in the Sanctuary. Based in Brooklyn, NY and originally from Atlanta, Devon Gates has emerged as a powerful creative voice on the contemporary jazz scene. A graduate of Harvard University and Berklee College of… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, December 31, 2025
This Advent and Epiphany, we ask the question: What do we fear? and reflect on what it means to insist on Hope in this moment in history. On Sunday, we’ll hear once more the tale of the magi: Zoroastrian priests schooled in astronomy, religion, medicine, and more, who journey westward to Bethlehem to visit the Christ child. We’ll hear how they defy a tyrant, dangerously defecting from his employment and traveling home “by another way,” and we’ll learn how we can follow in their footsteps today. Our A Sanctified Art curriculum reflects, As we end the series, Herod is still… Read More
by Kent M French, December 24, 2025
Howard Thurman (1899-1981), Dean of Marsh Chapel and professor at Boston University School of Theology, is considered by many as the theologian of the Civil Rights Movement. He wrote: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among brothers, To make music in the heart. There is always a… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, December 18, 2025
The fourth Sunday of Advent is upon us again, bringing us to the morning when we help re-tell the story of the first Christmas. Our Children’s Choir families have put together a pageant movie to help us we’ll hear the call of the angels, follow the star to Bethlehem, pay homage to the infant Christ, and return home by another way. Throughout the worship service, we’ll also be creating a giant, church-wide nativity scene, so we’re inviting each person to bring something to lend to the scene: a stuffed animal, a Lego person, a figure from a household nativity set,… Read More
by UPB Editor, December 12, 2025
MLK Day of Service Join us for our annual Sunday morning of service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, January 18 at 9:45am in the Parlor. All ages are invited to gather to make sandwiches and assemble over 120 bagged lunches for common cathedral, an outdoor church that serves the unhoused community and has been worshipping rain, snow, or shine for over 30 years! We’ll depart from United Parish at 11:30am to bring the lunches over to Boston Common and help serve lunch and celebrate worship with common cathedral. Sign up to bring supplies HERE. Contact… Read More
